Lifeblood of the industry (coffee of course)

[SD70M-2Dude]

D.Carleton

 

 

Murphy Siding

     I guess I'll have to give up my dream of running off and joining the railroad.  I don't drink tea or coffee.

 

 

 

Funny thing; I didn't start drinking coffee until I went railroading.

 

 

 

Amen to that, even as a teenager I detested the taste of coffee (loved the smell though) but once I started working nights regularly I started to have pick-me-ups before a trip.  But I too prefer tea, but strong with no sugar.  I usually make a thermos at home after I get called, and leave the teabag in until I have my first cup on the locomotive.  Looks like tar, but it keeps me alert without the strong buzz coffee gives me.  The other place I drink coffee is when I volunteer at the local Railway Museum, but that's because our water is a little sketchy and the boiling process and taste of coffee make it safe and palatable.

 

Regarding energy drinks, I tried Red Bull once and almost gagged.  Tasted so awful I spat it back out.  But I must be one of a minority, everyone else at work seems to love them.  But they can be dangerous, I know of 3 incidents (2 on CN, another at the Railway Museum) where a Red Bull-loving young man in his 20s has suffered a heart attack.  The one guy in Calgary was 21, and had been consuming 4-6 cans every day.  Call me crazy, but that's just insane.

 

Edit:  Forgot to mention that I only have hot drinks at night or during winter, during hot days I only drink cold water and lots of it.  Even working a yard shift at +25 C in overalls I feel fine.

[ACY Tom]

For many, many years I brewed coffee in a 32-cup percolator as a part of working my Amtrak sleepers. I used the Amtrak-issued Green Mountain coffee, but I didn't use exactly the amount prescribed by Amtrak (one of my secrets), and I always started with ice-cold water. In fact, I always put a bit of ice into the water to ensure that it would start cold. Offhand, I don't recall ever having a complaint, although I'm aware of complaints about others who made coffee by a different recipe. Our train has 6 sleepers, plus diners and lounges. With all those possible locations to find coffee, there were some Conductors who invariably sought out my car for their coffee.

I don't know whether those coffee makers are still used on any Amtrak sleepers. They were taken off my train and replaced by sealed machines in which the coffee quality can't be controlled by the on-site employee. This was due to tampering with the coffee by some teenagers when the attendant wasn't able to be there to prevent it, and resultant liability issues. Some folks just can't let things alone, and must ruin it for everybody else.

I never liked the new machine coffee, so in the last few years before retirement I started bringing my own assortment of teas (with honey), Folgers Coffee Singles, Alpine Brand Spiced Cider, and instant hot chocolate, which could be made from the hot water from the new machines.

Tom

[tree68]

mudchicken

Will NEVER get iced tea at Starbucks ever gain. Tastes like coffee washwater.

The problem with most coffee places is that they just run the water for tea through the coffee maker - which is well seasoned with coffee.  I'll dump out tea like that - I don't like coffee.

Coffee in glass story - during my first pass through USAF tech school at Chanute AFB, most of us ate at the chow hall (not many other choices at 5 AM, and it was essentially a mandatory formation anyhow).  The die-hard coffee drinkers would get theirs in the "milk" glasses - they held more.  Occasionally someone would drop an empty glass on the tile floor.  The entire chow hall would quiet after the first "ting," wondering if the "crash" would come on the second or third contact (usually the second...)

Lotsa caffiene story - during "ride time" with a local ambulance service whilst getting qualified as an advanced life support EMT, we responded to a "possible seizures" call.  Turned out to be two teens (14-ish) who had spent the day drinking coffee - they were virtually vibrating...

Downside of caffiene during rehydration:  Caffiene is a diuretic.  While I couldn't find any numbers specific to diet pop, regular soda is absorbed by the body less than half as fast as sports drinks.  Water is absorbed ten times faster than sports drinks.  So if you're drinking something like regular Mountain Dew, your body isn't absorbing the fluid very fast, yet it's being stimulated to excrete "excess" water...

 

[CShaveRR]

Norris, if you really want to run and join the railroad, don't let coffee keep you from it.  I went through my entire career and pre-career on the railroad without ever drinking the stuff.  And still don't.  Ever.

Notice I didn't say "touch the stuff."  When Iwas a yardmaster, it became part of my expected duties to make the coffee for the crews.  I had no complaints about that aspect of the job.  Ground coffee smells fine to me.

As for what gets me through, I'm with MC, except that Diet Dew is my poison of choice, and I require about two liters of something per day.

Pat has four large cups of coffee per day.  Two in the morning and two at night.  No, the nightcaps don't keep her awake.

[Firelock76]

Folks, it ain't just the railroads that run on coffee, the US Marine Corps would grind to a halt without it! 

My favorite coffees?  Well, I like Maxwell House French Roast, maybe the other MH stuff isn't so hot but even Lady Firestorm's brother who's a bit of a coffee snob was impressed by it. For a real treat I love Moon Doggie "Dark Side Of The Moon French Roast."  It's a specialty coffee shop run by friends of ours in New Jersey.

www.MoonDoggieCoffee.com   Not cheap, but GOOD!

Anyone remember the old A&P "Eight O'Clock" coffee?  A&P's dead but the coffee's still around, just as good as when my grandmother made it.  Ahh, I can still smell the aroma of Grandma and Grandpa's house at Thanksgiving and Christmas!  The food and the coffee all rolled into one!

By the way, Lady Firestorm LOVES the smell of coffee but can't stand drinking the  stuff.  She's a "Southern Holy Water" junkie, you know, Coca-Cola?

[Lake]

zugmann

  My choice of brew?  Rogers Company  San Francisco Bay Rainforest blend. 

Zug, Yes, Yes, and Yes. This one of the best coffees, the wife and I have found. Any of the Rogers Company coffees are very good. Different taste from each. All good though.

 

[Mookie]

Sir C - poor chicken.  Maybe water w/caffeine in it?  I think they make it or did at one time.  Wonder if I could have that piped in from Lincoln Water System?  Perfect!

[Mookie]

Euclid

 

 

Mookie

Ahem...Euclid - you gave a good report on coffee, but never did say what you prefer to drink.  

If a restaurant has coffee that tends on the mild side - I will drink coffee.  But at home - it is only really cold tap water (we have some of the best tasting water in most of the US) and 1-2% milk!  Lots of milk!  Does a body good!  (yes, I do have good bones and teeth, thank you for asking!)

 

 

 

 

 

Mookie,

I drink that Folgers Black Silk that I mentioned.  It is the best I can find in the grocery store.  I also think it critical to use the pause-and-brew feature to extract the first cup as soon as it is produced.

Any coffee is better when tapped off early in the brew cycle.   That means that it is early in the extraction process.  The extraction process gradually wears down the coffee to the dregs.  So it pays to get it early.  I like milk too. 

 

Thank you!  Reading thru the answers, they brought back to mind that when I worked in a restaurant, they told us that even though you needed the coffee right now, you couldn't take the pot until the Bunn was done dribbling.  The thinking was that the first part was strong and the last part wasn't, so you needed to let the two combine to get the right mix.  Their coffee always tasted like ca-ca to me, even combined.  But that was the thinking!  

[mudchicken]

Mookie

 

mudchicken

Not a coffee drinker (quit that in college ages ago)

Diet Dr. Pepper (55 gallon IV-drip)

When it gets rough, the chemicals change to Diet Mountain Dew

 

 

...follow the trail of 2-liter bottles

 

 

 

 

Psst - Sir Chicken - both contain aspertame - which could raise havoc w/your throat or esophagus - have you tried diet pepsi or diet coke w/splenda? First hand experience and big dr bill!

 

 

Splenda and chicken don't agree.....but...must...have..caffeine!!!!! drinking lotsa water these days to be hydrated, but it thins out the caffeine which means this critter won't be stirring much or brain functional

Will NEVER get iced tea at Starbucks ever gain. Tastes like coffee washwater.

[edblysard]

Kirkland's (Costco) Dark Colombian Roast, fine ground, black.

Smooth, rich and full bodied.

Like Norm, no coffee, no workee...or much of anthing else for that matter.

[ruderunner]

Put me in for black silk as well, but alas I don't get it very often. Coffee upsets moh ulcers so we drink mostly decaf Folgers.

And I like either that very first cup or the stuff that's been burning aeway for hours.

[Deggesty]

I did not drink much coffee until the summer before my last year in high school, when I spent two months in Baton Ruuge with my oldest brother and his family. My sister-in-law would make three cups of coffee just before we went to bed (I always got the third cup, with a few grounds in it). No, it was much better tasting than what you would find on Decatur Street in New Orleans.

In college, I did not drink coffee in the morning (I found out, one day when I was back in the kitchen, that the cooks put some kind of stretcher in the coffee). I did drink it occasionally at the evening meal after all the milk on the table had been drunk--I would put a spoon in my glass (they were heavy glass) and start pouring coffee into the glass, and my friend who had spent three years, mostly in Korea, in the Marine Corps would say, "Younger that's not Pyrex," and I would say, "I know," and fill the glass. I never broke a glass. The coffee left over from breakfast was taken to the college bookstore, a people were so desperate for coffee that they would pay for it and drink it. One day, a classmate of mine put salt into my friend's coffee; he was a bit upset, and asked me for some of the alum that I had prepared in chemistry lab. He put that into the other boy's coffee--and it improved the taste of the coffee, dragging all sorts of stuff down to the bottom of the cup.

I do not like bitter coffee, and it seems that many of the people around here do like it, so I have had to be careful when buying coffee for my use. I have appreciated the coffee served in Amtrak diners and what the sleeping car attendants make.

By the way, my Marine friend  said that if the horseshoe floats, the coffee is ready to drink.

[Convicted One]

In warm weather, it's going to be Dr Pepper for me. As another poster stated "just follow the trail of empty 2 litre bottles".

In the cooler months, I think it's pretty hard to beat a good strong cup of Folgers, properly made. If I'm at Starbucks, I'll order their "espresso roast" standard coffee.

 

Used to landlord warehouse properties out in Oakland CA.   And a number of my tenants were coffee brokers. They'd bring in coffee that was still green right off the boats, and spread them out on the cement floors to start drying. Tens of thousands of square feet at a time.  Anyone who has never smelled green coffee, should give it a try.  One won't soon forget it.

[Euclid]

Mookie

Ahem...Euclid - you gave a good report on coffee, but never did say what you prefer to drink.  

If a restaurant has coffee that tends on the mild side - I will drink coffee.  But at home - it is only really cold tap water (we have some of the best tasting water in most of the US) and 1-2% milk!  Lots of milk!  Does a body good!  (yes, I do have good bones and teeth, thank you for asking!)

 

 

Mookie,

I drink that Folgers Black Silk that I mentioned.  It is the best I can find in the grocery store.  I also think it critical to use the pause-and-brew feature to extract the first cup as soon as it is produced.

Any coffee is better when tapped off early in the brew cycle.   That means that it is early in the extraction process.  The extraction process gradually wears down the coffee to the dregs.  So it pays to get it early.  I like milk too. 

 

[Mookie]

mudchicken

Not a coffee drinker (quit that in college ages ago)

Diet Dr. Pepper (55 gallon IV-drip)

When it gets rough, the chemicals change to Diet Mountain Dew

 

 

...follow the trail of 2-liter bottles

 

Psst - Sir Chicken - both contain aspertame - which could raise havoc w/your throat or esophagus - have you tried diet pepsi or diet coke w/splenda? First hand experience and big dr bill!

[mudchicken]

Not a coffee drinker (quit that in college ages ago)

Diet Dr. Pepper (55 gallon IV-drip)

When it gets rough, the chemicals change to Diet Mountain Dew

 

 

...follow the trail of 2-liter bottles

[D.Carleton]

Murphy Siding

     I guess I'll have to give up my dream of running off and joining the railroad.  I don't drink tea or coffee.

Funny thing; I didn't start drinking coffee until I went railroading.

[Norm48327]

Ulrich

Those commercial coffee stations and water coolers are a real damper on productivity. Get rid of those and GDP would probably go up by a percent.

 

No coffee, no workee.

[Mookie]

Ahem...Euclid - you gave a good report on coffee, but never did say what you prefer to drink.  

If a restaurant has coffee that tends on the mild side - I will drink coffee.  But at home - it is only really cold tap water (we have some of the best tasting water in most of the US) and 1-2% milk!  Lots of milk!  Does a body good!  (yes, I do have good bones and teeth, thank you for asking!)

[zugmann]

Ulrich

Those commercial coffee stations and water coolers are a real damper on productivity. Get rid of those and GDP would probably go up by a percent.

 

Coffee is the only way to have productivity!

[Ulrich]

Those commercial coffee stations and water coolers are a real damper on productivity. Get rid of those and GDP would probably go up by a percent.

[tree68]

BaltACD

...still remember Wreck Train coffee from the 75 cup coffee maker (perc I think).

It wasn't "Wreck Train" coffee, but I worked for a fellow who was always the first one in the office in the morning.  We had a 20(?) cup "drip" pot.  He'd make the coffee strong enough to pull off a cup before the perk cycle was done, meaning that by the time it was done, one's spoon would stand up by itself...

When he retired, I acquired one of his coffee cups and filled it with wax, with a spoon in it.   The spoon could be used to pull the "coffee" out of the cup...  

The last place I worked had one of those commercial-style coffee makers.  It was funny - nobody ever drank the last cup (because they'd be expected to make the next pot...)

[Ulrich]

Tap water. If its cold out like today I'll start my day with a cup of coffee or tea.

[Semper Vaporo]

I can't even stand the smell of coffee.  I drink a lot of Aquafina FlavorSplash "Grape" flavor bottled water (don't like the smell of the other flavors!) but I have to go to 2 or 3 stores to get enough to last 2 weeks between trips for groceries.

[BaltACD]

Back in the day I was a  coffee drinker - still remember Wreck Train coffee from the 75 cup coffee maker (perc I think).  Strong enough for the coffee to rerail the equipment all by itself.

Presently an Ice Tea drinker - make it at home and 'bottle' it in 20oz Gatorade bottles and then freeze them.  Take them to work and put them in the microwave for a couple of minutes to partially defrost them - Ice Tea that doesn't get diluted.

[Euclid]

Like everything else at the grocery store, the quality of coffee has been dropping because the cost of commodities is inflating and the customer base will not fully accept a corresponding retail price increase.  So manufacturers cut the quality because customers will not notice as readily as a price increase.  The one mainstream ground coffee that I can still drink is Folgers Black Silk.  Good coffee has to be made from Arabica beans as a start, and must be high quality Arabica beans to close the deal. 

There are manufactures who boast about using Arabica beans, but the quality can still be dreadful.  High quality Arabica coffee tastes better the stronger it is.  But it is not that kind of strong coffee that has sat on the warmer for six hours and bends your spoon.  High quality Arabica coffee brewed strong has a very complex flavor that begins to remind you of fruits and chocolate.  I doubt that many people have ever tasted it because it is so unavailable these days.

When Folgers first introduced Black Silk (about 2009), they put exceptionally high quality Arabica into the product, apparently to give the product launch a boost.  That lasted for about six months.   I would say that if you could even buy the top quality Arabica coffee at the market price, it would be $75 per pound.

[diningcar]

In the 'good ole days' (1955-1957) when we were providing the engineering for two bridge projects we drank the coffee the bridge workers made, boiled on the site. To determine if it was too strong we through a metal track washer in it. If the washer floated the coffee was too strong. Thats the story I always tell when there are complaints about my coffee.

Much later, in the office, we bought Maxwell House. Their blend that Fred Harvey used in his hotels and restaurants along the Santa Fe.

 

[Murphy Siding]

     I guess I'll have to give up my dream of running off and joining the railroad.  I don't drink tea or coffee.

[zugmann]

tree68

Here in the north woods, finding sweet tea used to be a real challenge. The expansion of the military base a few years ago brought lots of southern transplants, so sweet iced tea is a bit more common.

 

I made the mistake of ordering a sweet tea when I was down south.  No thanks; you guys can keep that stuff.

I usually make a gallon of Lipton plain brewed iced tea (have to go online to get the bigger bags that make a whole gallon), sweeten it up a little with some honey, then I usually cut some lemonade in with it. 

[tree68]

Not a coffee drinker - never developed a taste for it, although I always loved going to the A&P with Mom.  You could grind your own, and I like the smell of fresh ground coffee.

I'm a tea drinker - hot and cold.  I happen to like my tea sweet (hot and cold).  I, too, will use the drink packets from time to time.  For hot tea, I tend to Bigelow's Orange and Spice.

For rehydration, it's water, with the occasional sports drink.  We usually have water available at the station or on the train.

Here in the north woods, finding sweet tea used to be a real challenge.  The expansion of the military base a few years ago brought lots of southern transplants, so sweet iced tea is a bit more common.